There are well described approaches for evaluating yield or yield-related traits in maize by maize plant performance in the field (e.g. in yield trials), whether the maize plants are produced conventionally through breeding practices or via genetic engineering. However, field testing requires significant time, manpower, acreage, and monetary resources, which hinders the number of maize plants that can be evaluated in any given period of time. The problem remains as to how to rapidly evaluate maize plants for yield or yield related traits using fewer resources.